Apple's OS X Lion Up-To-Date Program, Upgrade To Lion For Free

Before you go out and spend $30 on OS X Lion, if you've recently purchased a Mac with Snow Leopard or Snow Leopard Server on it, specifically between June 6, 2011 - July 21, 2011, your copy of the just released OS X Lion will cost you nothing. A free upgrade courtesy of Apple via their online Up-To-Date Program. To take advantage of this, you will need to complete a simple online form to get your OS X Lion or OS X Lion Server code which can be redeemed in the Mac App Store. Head on over to the OS X Lion Up-To-Date Program page to get started.

Apple Releases New 2011 MacBook Air With Backlit Keyboard, Thunderbolt

Some rumors were true while others were far from it. As expected, Apple has released a refreshed line of ultraportables today. Starting with the new 2011 11" MacBook Air starting at $999 (that's how much a 27" LED Cinema Display costs btw), it now packs Intel's new Sandy Bridge processor, the 1.6Ghz dual-core Intel Core i5 with an optional 1.8Ghz dual-core Intel Core i7 upgrade, 64GB SSD, 2GB of memory and Intel HD Graphics 3000. The new 2011 13" MacBook Air starts at $1,299, packs Intel's 1.7Ghz dual-core Intel Core i5 128GB SSD, Intel HD Graphics 3000 and comes standard with 4GB of memory.

But that's not all, both 11" and 13" 2011 MacBook Airs now have full backlit keyboards - A much requested hardware feature since Apple removed it from the 2010 MacBook Airs, Thunderbolt ports and they come with OS X Lion installed and ready to serve. Head on over to the source link for the full customization options.

Apple Outs Thunderbolt-To-Thunderbolt Cable

Apple has finally released a Thunderbolt cable today with a nice price tag to match it at $49. What's it good for you ask? How about blazing fast data transfer speeds of 10Gbps. There's not much you can use this Thunderbolt cable for right now. There are very few devices and peripherals that support this technology at the moment, but you can use it to connect your Thunderbolt-equipped MacBook Pro with your iMac and use it as an external display.

Apple Releases iOS 5 Beta 2: Wi-fi Syncing Included

Apple released the second beta for iOS 5 to developers recently. Below is a video highlighting the Wi-Fi sync.

Other features included in iOS 5 Beta 2

• When setting up the device, you have the option to backup to iCloud or the computer
• If there are no notifications in Notification Center, the message “No New Notifications” will appear
• By default, the Stocks Notification Center widget will be turned off

OS X 10.6.8 Update Soon?

With Final Cut Pro X, Compressor, and Motion announced this morning, a new support document states that upgrading to Mac OS X 10.6.8 is highly recommend for users running any of the new software. Mac OS X 10.6.8 isn’t publicly available, although it has been released to developers for testing.

Updating to Mac OS X v10.6.8 or later is strongly recommended when using Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5, or Compressor 4.

Even though the support document states that upgrading to 10.6.8 is highly recommended it works fine in 10.6.7.

Time Capsule Updated To 2TB and 3TB Versions

This morning, along with the announcements of Final Cut Pro X, Apple has quietly updated Time Capsule to 2TB and 3TB models. There doesn’t seem to be any new features other than just the difference hard drive capacities.

Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5, Compressor 4 Now Available

 

This morning, June 21, 2011 Apply announced that Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5 and Compressor 4 are available on the Mac App Store. Final Cut Pro X has been rewritten from the ground up, with a whole new UI, background rendering, and just a ton of more features. Final Cut Pro X is available now for $299.99, while Motion 5 and Compressor 4 are available today for $49.99 each. Get it while it’s HOT!